The 2000 Fuel Crisis

[Shirley Knott]

At the time I was 17 and serving an apprenticeship for Leyland-DAF as a diesel fitter.

 

We had a fleet of 6 or 7 LDV's (Sherpas) that were used for breakdown support (It was called 'DAF-Aid' IIRC). The foreman at the time decided it would be my job to take the vans and fill them to the brim with diesel before it all ran out, folks were panic buying and the ques were massive, it took all day.

 

I remember it being a bit of a skive and a nice way to spend a day rather than servicing/steam cleaning/washing down pits etc.

[Asimo]

I filled my Renault Alpine with about 15 gallons despite the sign that said "£10 only".

 

Cashier got all important about it so I said OK, and offerred him just a ten.

 

Karma was balanced shortly after when the carburretter fell apart and the doomed post Renault dream of reliable VW drove me to buy a new Golf - which was delivered with an almost empty tank because VW couldn't buy petrol either.

[bolognasal spray]

Okay I've been trying to remember this and I can't recall any of it happening.

[ProgRocker]

At the time I was driving my povery spec Fiat Tempra 1.4 running on 3 cylinders. I had just filled up before it broke* so I was personally unaffected. I had driven past one petrol station with a queue of cars and my mate was waiting there in his brand new (but discounted) SEAT Ibiza 1.4.

 

EDIT: * the news broke, not the Fiat!

[Cavcraft]

The main effect, which I suspect was the intention all along, was that it finished off all the small petrol stations and left the supermarkets free to jack up the prices as much as they wanted.

 

That 'Price Watch' scheme (Esso?) did that. Promise to be the cheapest within a mile, drop prices right down to force smaller garages out of business, then put them back up when they've shut. Flawless idea for the bastards.

[DSdriver]

I seem to recall that most of the crisis was caused by people who usually only put a couple of gallons in their car each week suddenly rushing out to fill their tanks.

[rantingYoof]

I passed my test in 2004 at the age of 18, so while I am familiar with sub-£1 per-litre petrol prices I was oblivious to the fuel crisis four years before that.

 

Both 'rents drove thirsty V6s to work and back around that time, and both had round-trip town-based commutes of around 16-18 miles, so I have literally no idea how they managed given neither car would be getting more than 20mpg.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Lol to the fuel crisis. I was in my late teens and courtesy of her majesties finest was halfway through a driving ban. It was entertaining to see the Carnage from the bus window as we trundelled by.

[beko1987]

I wasn't driving at the time, so don't remember it...

 

I remember the one years later, wasn't as full blown as the 2000 one but there was a shortage, myself and a colleague went out at lunch to fill up and came back 2 hours later...

[Dick Cheeseburger]

I was in my mid twenties, living in Darzet, and driving a 1991 Corrado. I vaguely remember this happening, but assume it didn't really affect us - there certainly weren't any 'leave the car at home because it's got no fuel in it' days.

That does remind me of having to phone into work that very winter, explaining I was going to be late in, as my handbrake was frozen solid and I was in the process of trying to unmelt the bugger. Didn't go down well, and I left the handbrake off on icy nights for the rest of the sub zero season.

 

The MR2 seems to suffer from the same issue...

[Guest Hooli]

I had a Mk3 Escprt 1.6GL (in burgandy with yellow stripes over the roof, XR3i suspension and exhaust, XR3 carb & cloverleafs etc - standard twat spec) which I'd filled up a day or so before & a MG Midget that was also full (I kept it like that as I'd heard it was good for the tank). Plus I cycled most places.

Basicly by the time I needed fuel it was being sold again, but the queues were impressive.

[Cavcraft]

Was getting quite low on fuel, so drove towards a local garage and accidentally pretended that I'd run out of fuel 50 yards before it. Took my 4 year old daughter and a petrol can to said garage, got the sympathy vote and jumped the queue a bit. Bad dad is bad.

When it got worse, I took to ringing garages to see when the next delivery as due, that paid off quite well as I just sat outside for half an hour or whatever and got first in the queue.

 

Oh, my lad's old boss apparently heard about the fuel strike, had his tanks filled then shut the forecourt saying he had none. The moment the other garages actually did run out, he hiked the price by a few pence a litre and opened his doors again.

[sporty-shite]

I was working at the rental place, where we ran an empty tank policy. Got sick of fielding phone calls from people who just wanted to know if we rented out full.

[fairkens]

the independents by me did that only it was a quid not a few pence. Short term gain long term pain.

[Des]

I recall being annoyed at the stupid queues, but then cheered up by deserted forecourts where I could tank up with LRP, there was a mini version, must be 7 or 8 years ago, I enjoyed deserted forecourts where I could tank up with LPG. I love fuel crisis.

[cobblers]

A lad I know had been stealing diesel out of his company vans for a few years. He was always on the take and had a right setup, a bit of pipe marked with the perfect length so he could drain the tank on an evening after work and leave a bit in so that he could drive to the petrol station in the morning.

It started off with him just using it in his own motors and maybe filling a mates car up for a drink, but as his bosses fucked him around more and more he became more and more obsessive about robbing this fuel, to the point where the old concrete garage down his garden was full of IBCs of diesel, I reckon there was 10-12 in there.

I never knew what he was actually planning to do with it all, I don't know if he actually had a plan really.

 

However it was timed absolutely perfectly for him, he sold it all to a haulage firm and used the proceeds of it to build a new workshop down his garden. 

[AndyW201]

I was a taxi driver at the time (Rover 600 TD hackney, P305 VWP). The guy I worked for at the time didnt have any bother keeping it fuelled up, he had a 'secret supplier'. It wasnt red he was running it on though so god knows where he was getting it from.

At home we had my car (K11 Micra 1.3, the posh one with the gold/bronze/purple colour change paintjob) and the Mrs' car (Suzuki Swift 1.0 GLS). She needed to drive to get to work, luckily I used to get info over the taxi radio which petrol stations were getting supplies. So I'd race home in the taxi and take whichever car was left on the drive and top it up with however much I was allowed to put in. We did this a few times and luckily both our cars were really good on fuel so we just about managed.

[Sheefag]

I was, and still am, convinced that LRP would have been fine for cats, what with it not having lead in it.

 

My theory as well. I had a 2.0 Scorpio estate at the time, ran it on LRP and it never failed an MOT afterwards.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

In contrast, when those storage tanks linings broke down and all the modernz sensors were getting fubard, I worked at a main dealer and my polo, lawn mower and chainsaw had free fuel for like a year.

[DodgeRover]

I had a drum of cherry on standby for my 2.3d Sierra but never needed it, ran about on my XL250 and parents were everywhere as usual in the Range Rover with the V8 burbling away on lpg.

Work was quieter than normal and it was lovely on the roads.

[adw1977]

I seem to recall that most of the crisis was caused by people who usually only put a couple of gallons in their car each week suddenly rushing out to fill their tanks.

This is exactly the problem, as soon as people think there will be a shortage they create a shortage by all trying to stock up at the same time.

 

Bear this in mind next March if we end up with a "no deal" Brexit - as soon as there is a hint of a shortage of food it will get hyped up and the supermarket shelves will be empty, even if they had 99% of their usual stock level to start with.

[red5]

Sierra Dohc non cat. Lrp for the win.

[egg]

I'm starting my Brexit stockpile in December for that reason , Lol.

[wuvvum]

I worked in a petrol station at the time, so I remember it quite vividly.  The phone ringing pretty much constantly with people wanting to know if we had fuel was probably the most annoying bit.  Seeing people trying to fill modern petrol cars with LRP when the nozzle wouldn't fit through the tank restrictor was occasionally amusing.  I was driving a D plate Saab 9000 Turbo at the time so wasn't really affected as that was fine on LRP.

[DodgeRover]

This is exactly the problem, as soon as people think there will be a shortage they create a shortage by all trying to stock up at the same time.

 

Bear this in mind next March if we end up with a "no deal" Brexit - as soon as there is a hint of a shortage of food it will get hyped up and the supermarket shelves will be empty, even if they had 99% of their usual stock level to start with.

I'm going further off topic but:

If you can afford it then it is sensible to have food and fuel to hand, we usually keep a month or so of food in the house in case I'm off work and there is no money coming in, also handy in case of snow/ flooding all the cashpoints/ bank systems going down.

Fuel for vehicles is difficult as we are on LPG but both will run on petrol if necessary.

 

If more people could think to more than the next day panic buying would greatly reduced.

Obviously before LP comments this is rather dependant on having a small amount of income that isn't already accounted for and I'm not knocking those who can only live day to day for whatever reason.

 

If anybody wants to do a bit of further reading then the Mormons/ Later Day Saints/ LDS give a fairly comprehensive list of what you should have to hand as a PDF without too many religious bits, I'll post a link if I can find it.

[PhilA]

I remember it kinda happening

 

Was driving a Fiat Cinquecento at the time so just keep on driving around and still didn't have to fuel up much. I think it lasted the entire duration on two tanks, the first of which was put in before the whole debacle began.

 

Phil

[tooSavvy]

SWMBO and I arrived for a weeks hols, in that there Lundun, in our Mazda 626 2.0carbie.

 

We drove down from full... I noted the storm brewing... Dropped off her + bags then drove over the road and brimmed it.

 

We used the tube all week (it got really tense at the pumps) and drove home happily...

 

It was pretty much died down by the time we needed another top-up

[mat_the_cat]

I was, and still am, convinced that LRP would have been fine for cats, what with it not having lead in it.

 

At the time I remember seeing modern cat-equipped cars filling up with LRP, and thinking that they'll be in for trouble. But with hindsight I think you're right.

 

As it was, on the Monday there was still a queue for the red pump, just a shorter one so you could at least get off the road - the main queue being out onto the street. I was driving down to Peterborough from Sheffield in my Stellar every weekend to visit my then girlfriend, so by driving economically through the week I was able to eek out the fuel and not have to change my plans.

 

I remember the roads being very quiet towards the end of the week, but fuel had started trickling through by Friday so not a completely deserted drive down!

[catsinthewelder]

My first road vehicle was a moped bought shortly after the fuel crisis.

 

My friend was staying in Bury for the weekend when the crisis broke and he phoned up in a panic asking if I thought his Uno would make it back to Durham on half a tank.  I assured him that if he took it steady then he would be fine.  Dozy twat took a wrong turn though and the next paniced phone call was recieved when he found the entrance to Liverpool docks.  He did eventually find a place with LRP and made it home very late that night.

[anonymous user]

At the time I had my caddy diesel pick up and the 928. I generally keep things with a reasonable amount in the tank so wasn't worried in the short term. Ended up loaning the caddy to a mate who always plays fuel light roulette. He had the cheek to whinge about the caddy's foibles.